It is no surprise women make up the majority of the members of the Alberta Dried Flower and Herb Growers Association, says its vice-president.
The small scale of the three-year-old industry draws them, said Katie Benschop, owner of an Edmonton flower business.
“It’s like on a farm. The man is on the combine doing big stuff and the woman has an acre near the house where she’s growing herbs.”
The gender gap is based on economics, she said. If you lose a 20 foot row of herbs it’s no problem, but if you plant 40 acres and it doesn’t work, you’ll be upset.
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There is a related issue of access to capital.
“Men start a business, borrow $50,000, buy a truck and then look for customers. Women – a bank won’t lend them money so they start small.”
Benschop told the recent Prairie Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Conference that her group has a problem identifying with the “suits” who talk about millions of dollars of capital and who want container loads of product. She said most of their members have progressed from selling dried herbs or flowers to their friends, to selling at farmer’s markets or to health food stores. And they have garbage bags full, not hundreds of pounds.
She stops in the middle of an interview to accept a thank you from a woman delegate for speaking about the reality of business for the small growers. But Benschop is not against the industry getting bigger, as long as it is recognized a natural growth has to occur.
Small quantities more lucrative
In fact, she would like her business, Blooming Prairie, to serve as a depot to gather small lots into large sizes for the industrial buyers. Also, small growers prefer making $30 a pound selling to the local health food store to getting $4 a lb. as part of a large container going to Japan.
But the suits must respect their suppliers, she told the conference. And a big part of building respect is how an individual grower presents herself. They need to make others realize they are serious. Talk to men about business. That’s what they like talking about. Then they’ll start taking women seriously.
“Men think you’re a little farm woman with a little bit of stuff,” Benschop said.
“You have to make it sound like you’re a company.” That means no babies crying in background.
